The First Amendment to the Higher Education and Training Act has come into effect following its ratification by President Dr Mohamed Muizzu. 

The Amendment was passed during the Parliament’s 16th sitting of the third session on 5 November this year. The Amendment seeked to expand access to higher education across Maldives and allow qualified institutions to provide university-level programmes. It also reverses the eligibility criteria for the establishment and operation of universities in the country.

Under the new provisions, an institution applying for registration as a university must have operated as a local college for at least 15 consecutive years or functioned as a university abroad for a minimum of 10 years.

To upgrade a registered higher education college to university status, institutions are required to meet several criteria, including offering at least three programmes at Maldives National Qualifications Framework (MNQF) Levels 7 and 9, maintaining a student enrolment of at least 1,000 in Level 7 and above programmes, and being listed under an international university ranking or rating system.

Additional requirements include holding membership for a minimum of five years in both an international university association and a quality assurance organisation, demonstrating international research collaboration, ensuring at least 10 per cent of academic staff possess doctoral qualifications, and maintaining infrastructure and resources in line with standards set by the Ministry of Higher Education, Labour and Skills Development.